Polling the electorate

MadArchitect · Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2007 5:57 pm Post subject: Polling the electorate

Hey, now that we've got all this spiffy new architecture working for us, whattya think about working on a way to update our procedure for picking quarterly books? I'm not thinking of overhauling the system altogether, but if there was a way to make it really easy to guage interest in any particular book that got suggested, that might help streamline the transition from suggestions to poll, and might ensure that we'd get more involvement once the book was actually chosen.

Can you put polls in replies? That might help. If we put a poll in every post that suggested a book, then people could just click "interested" or "not interested", and that would make it easy for Chris to just glance at the returns and see which books got the most interest.

indie · Experienced Joined: 20 Sep 2007 Posts: 105 Gender:

I moved this one to development.

Some interesting ideas here from a coding angle, unfortunately polls in every post are not a real possibility with this script. Topics need to be started with polls for them to work right.

Things like multiple choice polls and even full surveys with multiple poll questions are possible... but would require additional modifications.

Similarly, polls with yes/no answers might be possible, though it would certainly be easier to phrase a normal poll to only vote affirmatively.

Please keep the ideas coming though, I may just be coding some of this site (and certainly not trying to play moderator or anything) but I'm very interested in ways to improve phpBB Smile

indie

MadArchitect · Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 2:21 pm Post subject:

Alternatively, I know that some bbs systems allow contributers to mark threads, such that, taken cumulatively, the marks form a kind of rating for each thread. Maybe we could layer some mod over just the suggestion thread so as to make it possible to mark replies that contain books you're interested in.

The problem, as I see it, is that we're constantly adding new suggestions. So you can't really assess interest by running a poll every now and then. Another suggestion is bound to pop up the next day, and we won't know how interest for the new suggestion compares with that of the already polled suggestions.

We could change the format so that new suggestions are their own thread -- that would allow us to make each suggestions a poll -- but there's something very convenient and secure about having all of the selections in the same thread. If nothing else, it keeps Chris from having to search the entire forum at the end of each quarter to find all of the selections. And he could always miss one if we cut them loose.

I don't know. Still thinking.

indie · Experienced Joined: 20 Sep 2007 Posts: 105 Gender:

I'll give this some thought too. Obviously the polls built in are insufficient for this... but there must be a good solution around.

I thought of a mod to rate individual posts, but the potential problem with that is if someone casts their rating early, then rates another later, and other people do this too - the final tally will not reflect actual votes.

What about having the suggestion thread have a deadline for suggestions (for that upcoming month or whatever) and when that deadline is reached:

1. All suggestions in it become options in a poll in the first post.
2. The topic is locked, it's just a poll now.
3. A new thread is started for new suggestions.

I dunno, just thinking of ideas here. Maybe you guys can build on it, or come up with something better.

back to the code...
indie

MadArchitect · Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2007 2:12 pm Post subject:

indie · Experienced Joined: 20 Sep 2007 Posts: 105 Gender:

Thanks for taking the time to write all this and explain it to me. Smile

I'll give it more thought. There's an awful lot that can be done with this board by modifying and adding to the code, perhaps a modification can be written specifically for booktalk that will fulfill all these requirements.

I can tell you that "off the shelf" modifications will allow for post count requirement to vote, and for allowing multiple choice voting. As for vote weighting - allowing more than one vote on the same option... I'm not sure how that could be done yet.

In any case, even if a viable plan is made for a modification it will take some time to implement. I'm doing so much with so many areas of this site right now that must be done first (unless Chris decides to fasttrack this). Still, I like this kind of challenge, especially if it allows a board to be made truly unique in it's functionality. I'll see what I can come up with in my spare time.

If you or anyone else reading this has other specific ideas for things that would be good additions to the board, please post them in the dev forum here and I'll offer any input I can. Smile

riverc0il · Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2007 6:38 pm Post subject:

I am fairly certain that phpBB has functions (if not built in, then available in plugin format) that would allow for polls that allow users to vote any titles they are interested in. Not sure if the check boxes can be limited to only three picks though (I assume an advanced plugin of some sort might allow a top three choices only limitation on polls). So... the process could work like this:

Phase 1) Nomination Thread (Everyone posts recommendations)
Phase 2) All recommended books are added to a poll, people check books they are interested in (not voting).
Phase 3) Chris finalizes the selection process to three candidates using the "interest poll" as a guide
Phase 4) Poll for three final books (this would not allow more than one vote per title so would have to be done the old way.

I still advocate for a runoff voting system in which universal appeal outweighs a limited number of members using all three votes. Our most recent failed freethinker book suffered this fate receiving strong votes from a small amount of people while most people that spread their votes around, limited their votes' effectiveness, did not want to read the book that received the most votes.

MadArchitect · Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 1:32 am Post subject:


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